MAN OVERBOARD!

Age Range: 8 - 12

In a story set during World War II and based on a true event, four teens find themselves caught up in a dangerous adventure involving Nazi spies.

Sixteen-year-old Scott and his friend Adam have taken summer jobs aboard the Rapids Prince, a tourist boat that navigates the rapids on the St. Lawrence River. Setting events in motion, Scott overhears a suspicious conversation, and a man disappears overboard. Adam is kidnapped and taken into hiding, where he befriends Colette, the girl who brings him his meals. She warns Adam that she has overheard his captors speak of explosives, and it becomes increasingly clear that they work for Hitler. Meanwhile, Scott and his girlfriend, Lindsay, do some spy work of their own trying to rescue Adam. The action is propelled forward in chapters that alternate point of view. As the plot unfolds, the teens learn that the lines between good and bad, cowardice and courage are blurry. The action waxes and sometimes flags, but the novel breathes life into important events while exploring the complexities of human nature, especially in times of extreme duress.